Mike is a Juno-nominated Franco-Ontarian solo artist, has released 4 acclaimed albums of Canadian history-inspired songs, been described as being “rabble-rousing and Pythonesque” and “essential listening” by The Globe and Mail, created his own one-hour national CBC Radio Labour Day special (with Age of Persuasion’s Mike Tennant), toured as a swing member of The Arrogant Worms, sung at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa for The Vigil Project, and created an album of Great Lakes songs with David Francey. He has performed and MC’d at festivals coast-to-coast, and brings his passion for Canada to thousands of students each year with his tours of Canada Needs You, Le Retour D’Étienne Brûlé and his newest performance that commemorates the War of 1812, Flames Across the Border.

Mike is known to many for his former life in the folk/rock/vaudeville Moxy Früvous, with whom he headlined festival stages all across North America and Europe and sold over a quarter-million albums.

Flames Across the Border Featuring Mike Ford

The 1812-1814 conflict comes alive in music and words with Mike Ford's original songs about epic events (the invasion of Little York, Great Lake ship battles) famous characters (Tecumseh, Fitzgibbon) and unsung participants (farm-trampled settlers, deep woods couriers). Provoking boisterous audience interaction, sampling period marches and ballads, challenging myths and assumptions, Flames Across the Border is a song-cycle show specially created for the War of 1812 Bicentennial.

Mike Ford captivates audiences with his sheer enthusiasm and encyclopedic knowledge of Canada’s history. Mike’s lively and interactive manner engages his audience to reflect upon Canada’s historical landscape while he performs his own original tunes as well as period shanties, marches, satirical verse and protest songs. Mike uses these musical conventions and styles to illustrate the dynamic events, political climate and personalities of the time.